Cafeteria Approach to Rewards Management

The cafeteria approach to rewards management is a compensation strategy that allows employees to choose their own rewards based on their individual needs and preferences. This approach recognizes that employees have different needs and motivations and allows them to select benefits and incentives that are most meaningful to them.

Perkins and White (2011) argue that the cafeteria approach offers several advantages over traditional, one-size-fits-all compensation strategies. First, it allows employees to feel more in control of their rewards, which can increase their satisfaction and motivation. Second, it can help organizations attract and retain employees by offering a wide range of benefits that meet diverse employee needs. Third, it can reduce costs by allowing employees to choose benefits that they value the most, rather than providing expensive benefits that may not be used or appreciated.

The authors suggest that organizations can implement the cafeteria approach by first identifying the benefits and incentives that are most valuable to employees, such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and professional development opportunities. Next, organizations can offer a menu of benefits and incentives from which employees can choose, with different options and levels of coverage to meet individual needs. Finally, organizations can communicate the cafeteria approach clearly to employees and provide guidance and support to help them make informed choices.

Overall, the cafeteria approach to rewards management is a flexible and employee-centered compensation strategy that can increase employee satisfaction, motivation, and retention while also reducing costs for organizations.

1. Allows employees a degree of choice in their total remuneration package, e.g.  by permitting them to take less in non-pay benefits and more in pay, or vice versa
2. The core benefit element will be salary
3. The costed benefits will be elements such as car, Health Insurance, Childcare, extra holiday
4. Employees chose the package” they wish to “construct”.  
5. The total overall value of their compensation will be the same whatever choices they make. 
6. This allows the individual to tailor their rewards to their particular needs and alter these as their needs change.